Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night defied calls from Pope Francis and Middle Eastern leaders for a ceasefire in Gaza as the IDF bombed the Gaza Strip with all its might as part of its ongoing “encirclement” campaign against the enclave.
Entire buildings in the Gaza Strip were engulfed in fire as the IDF continued its bombing campaign, as the Israeli prime minister told IDF troops at the Ramon air base in southern Israel that the war would only end when Hamas was completely destroyed.
“Our enemies misjudged us. “Without the return of the hostages, there will be no ceasefire,” Netanyahu said.
“This should be completely removed from the lexicon.” This is what we say to our friends and our enemies. We’ll just keep going until we defeat them. We have no alternative.’
The hardline rhetoric comes as world leaders, including immediate neighbors, pleaded with the 74-year-old leader to stop the incessant bombardment of the enclave.
Pope Francis called for humanitarian aid and assistance to injured Gazans to ease the “very serious” situation.
Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) refused to back down from the fire that has descended on Gaza since war broke out in early October
Entire buildings in the Gaza Strip were destroyed by fire as the IDF wreaked havoc on the enclave
Gaza’s night sky lit up with an orange glow as the IDF fired flares in the ongoing battle against Hamas
Pope Francis called on Netanyahu to end the bitter conflict “in the name of God.”
“I keep thinking about the serious situation in Palestine and Israel, where many people have lost their lives.” “I ask you, in the name of God, to stop and stop the fire,” he told the crowds after his weekly Angelus prayer on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square.
“I hope that everything will be done to prevent the conflict from spreading, that the injured will be rescued and that aid will reach the population of the Gaza Strip, where the humanitarian situation is very serious,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ayman Safadi, the foreign minister of Jordan, which borders Israel, complained that “Israel is losing its humanity in this war” after airstrikes hit two key refugee camps in the Gaza Strip, reportedly killing at least 53 people and wounding dozens more.
“This madness cannot continue and this war must stop,” Safadi told Sky News.
“Nobody benefits, on the contrary, everyone loses.”
Israeli forces say they have already “fully encircled” Gaza City and are carrying out “widespread attacks on terror infrastructure” below and above ground, after allegedly revealing further evidence of Hamas’s “City of Terror” tunnel network.
Ayman Safadi (pictured), the foreign minister of Jordan, which borders Israel, lamented that “Israel is losing its humanity in this war.”
“I hope that everything will be done to prevent the conflict from spreading, to rescue the injured and to provide assistance to the people of Gaza,” said Pope Francis (pictured).
Amid reports of “severe clashes” between Israeli forces and Hamas, the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip claimed that Israeli forces carried out “intense bombing attacks” on several hospitals in the northern Gaza Strip shortly after telecommunications were disrupted.
Gaza reportedly suffered a total communications blackout for the third time since the war began, while the Israeli military announced it had surrounded Gaza City and split the besieged coastal strip in two.
“Today there is North Gaza and South Gaza,” IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said last night, calling it a “significant stage” in the war against Hamas. Israeli media reported that troops were expected to enter Gaza City within 48 hours.
Israel accused Hamas of war crimes and revealed new evidence it said shows the terror group is using hospitals in the Gaza Strip as military bases while preventing civilians from escaping.
“Hamas is weak without human shields,” Hagari said as he released the previously classified intelligence information, which he said had been passed on to partner agencies in the United States and Britain.
Smoke and flames rise over Gaza City as fighting intensifies in the besieged strip’s capital
At another civilian facility, the Sheikh Hamad, known as the “Qatar Hospital,” Hagari showed photographic evidence of tunnel entrances next to the building discovered by Israeli troops
According to the IDF, the footage shows entrances to Hamas tunnels under a hospital
He showed aerial photos of Hamas rocket launch pads near the “Indonesian” hospital in Gaza and said the terrorists knew the IDF could not launch an airstrike with collateral damage to the hospital.
With crippling fuel shortages for hospitals and homes, Hagari said further material shared by the IDF shows that “there is no fuel shortage in Gaza.” It is in the hands of Hamas. They steal it from the hospitals.’
He added that some of that fuel was stored beneath the Indonesian hospital, just 75 meters from a launch site, and that the building was actually built over Hamas’s “City of Terror,” the spider web of tunnels beneath the enclave .
There was also a recording of a Gaza official telling a colleague, “They say there is a fuel shortage in Gaza, they are liars, liars,” in a recorded conversation that Hagari said the United States had reviewed.
At another civilian facility, the Sheikh Hamad Hospital, known as the “Qatar Hospital,” Hagari showed photographic evidence of tunnel entrances next to the building discovered by Israeli troops.
He also showed video footage of Hamas terrorists firing at the Israelis from the hospital.
There were video and audio clips purporting to show Hamas actively preventing the evacuation of civilians from the northern Gaza Strip, which the Israelis did by dropping 1.5 million leaflets, 6 million recorded telephone conversations and 4.4 million SMS texts have promoted.
Israeli army flares light up the sky over the northern Gaza Strip
Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip
Israeli soldiers and tanks take up positions in the heavily bombed Gaza Strip
During a purportedly recorded call to a resident of the Jabalia refugee camp, an IDF officer told them in Arabic: “There will be no safe place.”
He said some of that fuel was stored beneath the Indonesian hospital, just 75 meters from a launch site, and that the building was actually built over Hamas’s “city of terror,” the spider web of tunnels beneath the enclave.
Hagari showed photos of Hamas vehicles blocking the exit road from the northern Gaza Strip and said its fighters fired anti-tank weapons at Israeli troops who were opening a humanitarian corridor to allow further evacuations.
The new intelligence came to light as the Israeli military said it had divided the besieged coastal enclave in two.
Troops have “reached the coast and are holding it,” he added.
“There are now widespread attacks on the terrorist infrastructure – below and above ground,” said Hagari.
On Sunday evening, dramatic images showed huge fireballs rising over northern Gaza City, which Hamas blamed on Israeli bombings.
“Intense bombings have been taking place around hospitals for more than an hour,” said Salama Marouf, head of the Hamas government’s media office.
According to Marouf, particularly serious attacks occurred around the Palestinian territory’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa.
The bombing came after the Israeli military again accused Hamas of using hospitals in its military operation against Israel.
“Hamas deploys forces and weapons in, under and around schools, mosques, homes and UN facilities,” Hagari told reporters on Sunday.
Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip
A photo taken early on November 5, 2023 in Sderot, on the Gaza Strip border, shows smoke and fire rising over the Palestinian enclave during an Israeli attack
Destroyed buildings in Gaza City on November 5, 2023
“Among Hamas’ worst war crimes is its use of hospitals to conceal its terror infrastructure,” he added. Hamas has repeatedly denied the accusation.
Asked what measures Israel would take against the Hamas entities he identified, he said: “I can’t say more, but it must come to an end,” adding: “Israel abides by international law.”
According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, Israel has relentlessly attacked the besieged Gaza Strip, leveling entire city blocks and killing more than 9,700 people, mostly women and children, in its fight to destroy Hamas.
The attack on Gaza came after Hamas militants stormed the border on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, Israeli authorities say.
Israel continued its brutal attack on Hamas overnight and IDF jets attacked a “terror base.”
As Israel’s relentless bombardment of the Gaza Strip continues into its 30th day, the conflict threatens to expand into an all-out war on another front.
As daily cross-border exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli military continue across the Israel-Lebanon border, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said today that his army is ready to go on the offensive.
“We have set ourselves the goal of restoring a significantly better security situation at the borders, not just in the Gaza Strip,” Halevi said today during an assessment at the 210th Division in northern Israel.
“We are ready to go on the offensive in the north at any time.” “We understand that it can happen and we trust that the defense here is strong,” he added.
Tensions are heating up just a day after Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened to escalate the war against Israel and warned of a “real battle.”
The powerful group’s leader praised the Alaqsa flood – the name Hamas used for its brutal attack last month.
He said the “glorious jihad operation” led to an “earthquake” in the Jewish state, revealed the weakness of Israel and its army and ushered in a new historical phase in the battle.
“Your fleet in the Mediterranean does not scare us… We are ready to face the fleet you threaten us with,” Nasrallah said, addressing the US. “If you want to prevent a regional war, you must quickly stop the aggression against Gaza.”
The United States is “preventing a ceasefire and an end to aggression,” he added.
His heavily armed, Iran-backed group carried out simultaneous attacks on Israeli positions along the Lebanese border, while residents of southern Lebanon reported the fiercest Israeli attacks yet.
The IDF said its aircraft attacked Hezbollah targets in retaliation for its attack, combining the airstrikes with artillery and tank fire.